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Rajiv barb may affect BJP's Amethi vote bank

Lucknow: May 6, 2014 DHNS

BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi’s all-out attack on the former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi appears to have given an opportunity to the Congress to play the “emotional card” in Amethi, where people cutting across political affiliations, still remain attached to the late leader.

The Congress leaders in Amethi feel that Modi had blundered by attacking Rajiv Gandhi, whose very name makes people of the constituency emotional.

“Rajiv used to get around 75-80 per cent votes in Amethi which shows that people from every section of the society were his supporters,” Munna Singh, a member of the Amethi District Congress committee, said. He said Rahul Gandhi does not have the kind of ‘touch’ Rajiv Gandhi had. “Attack on Rajiv Gandhi will badly hurt BJP nominee Smriti Irani...you cannot attack Rajiv and still get votes in Amethi.”

A similar sentiment was echoed by Prem Tewari, a former Congress leader. “People of Amethi are emotionally attached to Rajiv. The Amethi that we see today has been built by Rajiv Gandhi,” Tewari said.

The two leaders felt that Priyanka Gandhi’s emotional appeal in Amethi to give a befitting reply to Modi had galvanised the Congress workers.